Ardus Kaine
Ardus Kaine is the leader of the Pentastar Alignment and an Imperial Remnant hero and fleet commander in Era 3. He commands the Reaper, an Executor-class Star Dreadnought. Biography A human from the planet Sartinaynian, Kaine was known as strong character and an excellent public speaker. He was one of the earliest supporters of Naboo Senator Palpatine, continuing to support him after his election as Supreme Chancellor. When Palpatine reformed the Republic into the Galactic Empire, Kaine adopted the ideals of the New Order with fanaticism. He proved instrumental in the reorganizing the government, assuring the loyalty of the Grand Army of the Republic, and forming the Commission for the Preservation of the New Order (COMPNOR) to monitor Imperial Intelligence. Due to his support and contributions to the Empire, Kaine was quickly made a governor, and later, a moff. An extremely wealthy man, he at some point became the financial supporter of Inquisitor Jerec. Upon the death of Wilhuff Tarkin at the Battle of Yavin, Kaine succeeded him as Grand Moff of Oversector Outer. Despite this extremely prestigious title, Kaine viewed the promotion as a personal rebuke: he would have rather remained near Imperial Center, assisting Palpatine in important Imperial policies. His loyalty to the Empire and its Emperor overrode this feeling, however, and he discharged his assignment with the greatest skill. In 4 ABY, the Emperor was killed aboard the Second Death Star. When news of this reached Kaine (still bitter over his assignment), he saw it, not as the loss of a personal hero, but as an opportunity. Knowing that many corporations would struggle without the Empire's backing, he saw the chance to create a new Empire state, with him as its head. With that in mind, he called together a meeting of corporate heads and Imperial governor's from the Velcar Free Commerce Zone aboard his flagship, the Reaper, to discuss what must be done. From these talks rose the Pentastar Alignmetnt: an isolationist political conglomerate that would preserve corporations from New Republic interference. With corporate backing and a large fleet, Kaine spread his Alignment over a large area of Oversector Outer. Though the New Republic opposed the doctrines on which the Pentastar Alignment was founded, its isolationist properties meant that it was largely left to itself. The Alignment's greatest threats were from within: differences between the various Pentastar departments and widespread animosity toward Kaine were constantly threatening to tear it apart. The Empire would survive (first under Sate Pestage and later Ysanne Isard), but Kaine would pay no heed. The Alignment would fund Jerec's expedition to the Valley of the Jedi. This would prove to be a futile effort and led to Jerec's death at the hands of Morgan Katarn's son, Kyle Katarn. His kingdom also became the home of Grand Admiral Octavian Grant, who would remain until his defection to the New Republic in 6 ABY. The Alignment would come under increasingly vicious pirate attacks over the next few years, but was rather successful in fending them off. When Grand Admiral Thrawn reappeared, the Alignment did provide some ships and equipment initially. However, instead of joining him, they built up their own forces in anticipation of a New Republic assault. Kaine, at one point, was prepared to fully back Thrawn shortly before the Battle of Bilbringi, but the Grand Admiral's death would put a halt to this. One year later, the Reborn Emperor would reunite the splintered Imperial factions once more. This time, Kaine had little choice but to show allegiance to his Emperor and joined in Operation Shadow Hand. Though Kaine's battles against the New Republic met with success, the campaign would ultimately be a failure, with the Emperor killed once-and-for-all over the planet of Onderon. Kaine himself would be killed shortly thereafter over Palanhi when his shuttle was ambushed by New Republic E-wings. Use Ingame As the Imperial Remnant, Grand Moff Ardus Kaine is in an SSD, so his use should be fairly obvious. Set him down in the middle of the enemy lines, don't move him too much, and retreat him before he dies if you must. In addition, he is a tier 3 fleet commander. Therefore he'll provide a bonus of 10% bonus to Health, Damage, Shields, and Defense and a 5% bonus to Movement Speed. He is also in a region of space that is relatively unprotected by the New Republic (the Outer Rim). While Treuten Teradoc, Blitzer Harrsk, and Sander Delvardus wreak havoc in the Core, Kaine can mount a simultaneous campaign from the Outer Rim inwards (in a grim rendition of the Final Imperial Push) This does not last forever, however, as Kaine is assassinated before Palpatine can return from Byss. For the Pentastar Alignment, Kaine is even more important. Being the faction leader, he provides a 10% discount in addition to his tier 3 command bonus. Moff Kaine spawns in at Week 20 in all Era-Progressive / Era 1 GCs. As the Eras progress they do not become stronger, nor do they gain more heroes. A Pentastar Alignment player cannot afford to lose any heroes, especially Kaine. For example, if Jerec or Grant is killed in Era 1, they will not come back in eras 2-5. Therefore, use them wisely! Category:Space Heroes Category:Fleet Commanders Category:Faction Leaders Category:Pentastar Alignment Heroes Category:Imperial Remnant Heroes